Playspent - The working poor simulator
 

http://playspent.org/

How would you fare one a very limited income? Playspent is designed by a ministry to illustrate the decisions that need to be made by the working poor.

Think of it as the game of Life(TM) without all of the fluff.

According to the game, my teeth are probably going to fall out, my kids probably hate me, the stress will probably kill me, I have to cook in the microwave and the house is cold, and I better not get stopped by the cops, but I made it with $79 to spare. Woo hoooooo!

I play a real version of this with one of my patients, who desperately needs to be on a strict budget. I have suggested MANY times that she speak with her case manager about setting one up, so that she doesn't run out of money half-way through the month. She has been trying to borrow money from my cow orkers and myself for the last week, ostensibly to do her laundry. She sticks to that story, and I don't doubt her, her meth days are long since past, but she is well aware that I won't lend her money. She is convinced that the world will end before check day if she doesn't do her laundry, and refuses to resort to the old-school method of washing in the kitchen sink and hanging everything on the drying rack I've seen in her apartment.

I ended up with 723. Probably on the verge of suicide, though.

Actually, this was not unlike my life for about 8 months last year.

So, you make sensible, thrifty decisions and then it comes along and say "oh but you maxed out your credit cards and now the minimum payment is a couple of hundred bucks". How did I end up in that state, given that my modus operandus is sensible, thrifty decisions?

I ran out of money on day 21 because I went for the root canal with only $70 left to see if it would let me put in on my credit card, given that I did pay the minimum so they probably want me to borrow more.... it didn't.

I've done this a couple times, but I can't remember: at any time does it mention that your entire paycheck goes to gas to get to work to get your entire paycheck?

(still bitter, probably will get more bitter, as gas rises and they blame it on BoFoForeignLand and not the profit-greed of the people who could probably make a cut or two somewhere to, you know, help the fucking economy and the working poor and the working "well I didn't USED to be so poor"...)

It's all like "Well, okay, YOU made the right decision, BUT a lot of people DON'T." ... Uhhh...okay?

The sim has a lot of annoying and unreal assumptions. And if you play through it a few times it's plain to see that it's a crude decision tree. No matter what choices you make, you're still fucked at the end of the month.

I won't bother to mention the little guilt-trip messages it displays.

No.

IN THE "QUIZ" I made sensible monetary decisions. So why would I suddenly be hit with a maxed out credit card? Yes, if I chose the $100 designer Jeans over the thrift store ones, then it follows. but not if I didn't.......

Yes.

I ended the month with 290 bux in my pocket but nothing bad happened to me AND my kids hate me. I am depressed (though not smoking yet!) with a cardiac arrest on the way. I'm also not a very good person. I hit somebodys car and just drove away coz I couldn't afford to pay the repairs, my kids have 10& thirft store sneakers and I didnt' chip in for my sick coworker (they wanted 20$ from everyone but I said I forgot my wallet). Poverty=selfishness.

I don't think poverty equals selfishness, but it does induce a pragmatic outlook. That $25.00 for the sick coworker will buy your kids some school lunches or better sneakers. It sucks to drive away from the car you damaged, but if you can't afford to pay for the repairs, the end result remains the same - no restitution to the owner. With any luck, his insurance will cover at least part of it, anyway.

Amishmouthbuttfucker.

I played it once or twice but stopped after deciding I don't want to play a game that is basically my life

Yeah, it gets a big, fat FAIL

It needs to stop choosing the McDonalds oatmeal.....